i made that!

Mckay isn't a huge fan of pies (barring his Mom's pecan and pumpkin ones)... actually he's not a huge fan of any fruit + dessert combination.  Which is really disappointing to me sometimes.  For him its cookies, cookie bars, cakes, ice cream, brownies... that makes him happy.  But I love tarts and pies and sorbets and crumbles.  I decided I wanted to try and win him over to my side by making a delicious pie.  I chose strawberry, his favorite berry, to up my chances of him liking it.  Then a few girlfriends told me, "it has to be strawberry rhubarb".  So not even knowing what rhubarb looked like, I went off to the grocery to find some.  If you're naive like me, it's basically over-sized, sour, pink celery.

I found this recipe & it turned out beautifully.  I didn't use her pie crust recipe, only the filling.  This picture is my pie before it's baked.  I opted out of a top crust & just did crumble instead, which was fantastic to have the super sweet crunch top with the juicy-tart filling.  There is no after picture because we devoured it.  1 pie, 2 people, 24 hours and it was GONE.  That is sad, but it was irresistible.

I've always been a coconut cream pie kind of girl; now I have completely reconsidered my allegiance. 

& those beautiful hydrangeas were borrowed/stolen from the "gardens" of a medical office building on my street.  Hydrangeas have been in bloom all over these parts and I love them.  In a moment of covetous weakness, I decided I would steal.  I figured a medical office building was a much less offensive choice than a random neighboring house.  And they had  20+ bushes anyway... aren't they lovely?  I loved the bushes that were pink & purple on the same blossoms!  Flowers in my kitchen are one of my most favorite things.

Scones & clotted cream, please.

Being in the city was amazing, but so was the second part of our trip, the countryside.  We put over 700 miles on our rental car.  We left London and drove south to Dover & then wound our way through Canterbury, Hastings, Battle, Salisbury, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Cotswolds and Cambridge.  It was a dream.  I loved driving the tiny roads with Mckay & taking in the beautiful scenery together.  The beauty of this place was astounding to me.  

Dover Castle.  We spent 4 hours here.  It was amazing.

Medieval castle wall at Dover Castle.

The White Cliffs of Dover.  So romantic and breathtaking.  This was my favorite "countryside" part of our vacation.  It was peaceful and picturesque.

Canterbury Cathedral.

Jeake's -the most adorable house we stayed at in Rye.  Our room (the Apothecary room) has been standing since 1589.  Charming.

Herstmonceux Castle.

Jane Austin's home where she wrote & finished all 6 books.

Jane Austin's grave site, Winchester Cathedral.

Stonehenge.  Unbelievable.  

Bath Abbey & the ancient Roman baths.

17th-century farmhouse we stayed at 5 miles outside of Bath.  Every night of the countryside we stayed in a different B&B.  They were so beautiful.

Avon River in Bath.

Castle Crown voted "most beautiful village in England".  It was too adorable.  There was one street, named "The Street".  

Antique shop in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswalds.

 Driving the countryside was so fun.  I loved the sheep grazing everywhere.

 He became the best wrong-side-of-the-road driver.  & I the best navigator (with the help of our best friend the GPS).

Ended our trip back in London & saw the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Anne Boleyn & Harry Potter stompin' grounds

I don't have many pictures from this day but it was a great one!  We started the morning off by going to the Tower of London.  Along with over 100 others, the Tower is where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were executeed.  Three Queens of England in there!  The Tower of London is also where the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom are housed as well as an impressive armory full of hundreds of years worth of swords and armor worn by fancy people.

On our way back to our hotel we stopped at King's Cross Station because we just could not pass up an opportunity to get this picture:

We grabbed our bags, checked out of our hotel and took a long, stinky, uncomfortable, crowded ride to the airport via underground (rush hour).  At the airport we rented a car and Mckay so bravely tackled the challenge of driving on the wrong side of the road!  He adjusted fairly quickly, but navigating out of the airport (which is hard in your own country!) was extremely tense.  We drove Southeast to Dover, England to start our tour of the English countryside!

Day 3 in London

Highlight of Mckay's day:  Traditional English breakfast -fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, fried bread, poached egg and beans.  Okay, that is a big fat lie, he was actually quite frustrated with the breakfast selection during the entirety of this trip.  He did love the British War Rooms: learning tons about WWII, seeing the underground space from which Winston Churchill directed the war, & listening to every word of the audio guide.

Highlight of Nicki's day:  Mckay being done with the audio guide (kidding!).  Being front and center at Buckingham Palace with a million crazy people pushing and shoving at the gate.  Eating dinner at a French restaurant (Cote) where we indulged in the best fried calamari EVER.